


glow

by vagarius



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Day 4: Falling in Love, Kageyama Rare Pair Week, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life, sorta - Freeform, the two of them get ditched, then they go to various stores in tokyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 23:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7127912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo sees neither of these people, in this off-the-court Kageyama. This Kageyama is a little awkward, and a little slow, all while player Kageyama simmers below the surface, waiting for the next challenge to come. Kuroo's not sure if he wants to be that challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	glow

**Author's Note:**

> me being impatient again

Out of all the things Kuroo was expecting, Kenma ditching him to go off with a friend was _not_ one of them. (Or at least, not very high on the list. Very low, actually. The Mariana's Trench of expectations.)

It could be _worse_ , he supposes; they _did_ agree to meet later at the station, and it's not like he's alone, since Hinata's own ditched friend is still here, and any friend of Hinata's, ditched or not, is probably a good kid. Then again, the Hinata he knows makes friends with _everyone,_ so he may have to rethink that verdict. No matter.

The kid – _Kageyama,_ his mind supplies – seems pretty laid back, off the court. Kuroo remembers the player from training camp, the genius who pulled the starting position from under a third year's feet, the setter whose intensity practically shook the gym floor. The type of player people envied, the type with refined talent and effortless success.

There's another player Kuroo remembers; the boy he found practicing alone in the gym, the one who learned a new kind of toss for the sake of a teammate. The one whose toss _dropped,_ like a pin to the floor, yet still left him frustrated and unsatisfied, still working for _more more more._ The type of player people admired, the type with determination a mile wide, and skill to show for it.

Kuroo sees neither of these people, in this off-the-court Kageyama. This Kageyama is a little awkward, and a little slow, all while player Kageyama simmers below the surface, waiting for the next challenge to come. Kuroo's not sure if he wants to be that challenge.

"Well," Kuroo says, over the contemplative silence, "We were obviously ditched, so do you want to go shopping?"

Kageyama starts, like he wasn't expecting Kuroo to speak to him, let alone ask to spend time with him, and Kuroo doesn't bother looking into it. "I don't – " he says, then pauses, sneaking a glance at Kuroo before he finishes, "I don't have a lot of money."

Kuroo tries to smile reassuringly, though he may be failing, expression a smirk more than anything. He starts walking, and says, "We'll just look around, then," and hopes Kageyama follows.

Although he has to jog a few steps, Kageyama catches up no problem. Once he does, Kuroo turns into the second store he sees, which happens to be a bookstore. He plans on leaving, since Kageyama doesn't seem like much of a reader, but Kageyama rushes past him to the sports section, so Kuroo leaves him be, and searches for his own book to pass the time. He considers picking up some fiction, maybe a light novel, but he doesn't feel like being sucked into a plot he can't finish, so science it is.

Kageyama walks over, sometimes later, and blinks down at the words in Kuroo's book. He looks so confused that Kuroo can't help but laugh a little, putting the book back on the shelf. Kuroo leads them out and into the open.

"Wanna stop at the pet store?" he asks, and Kageyama nods, scooting closer as they pass through a more crowded part of the sidewalk. Reflexively, Kuroo wraps an arm around Kageyama's shoulders. Kageyama freezes. He relaxes, after a moment, before Kuroo thinks to pull his arm off, so he leaves it there. It's comfortable, like this, comfortable enough to stay even when the crowd disperses.

It's not until they reach the pet store that he lets go. He wants to run towards the cats, but follows Kageyama instead, and prays that Kageyama doesn't want to look at dogs.

They bypass the dogs, and the cats, and even the birds, making their way to the back of the store where the fish are kept. Kuroo wonders if and how he knew they were there.

Kageyama stares at the tanks in innocent amazement, watching the fish swim around. He seems to take a liking to the little fish on the side, glowing red and yellow and green, two larger household tanks holding all of them.

"I didn't know fish could glow in the dark," Kageyama says. It's probably unintentional, just him thinking out loud, but Kuroo, against his better judgment, responds anyway.

"These are genetically modified, actually," he comments, and Kageyama's own light dims. Kuroo panics, because he absolutely _hates_ upsetting people, and he doesn't want to be the one who left the pet store with a sad Kageyama. "There are naturally bioluminescent fish, though," he rambles, "There's one that actually uses the light to make itself more _unnoticeable,_ which is kind of weird, considering light usually makes thing more noticeable. There's also a lot of bioluminescent protists that grow on the surface of the ocean. Anglerfish also have this organ that glows with the help of symbiotic bacteria. The gene that makes the fish here glow is actually extracted from a jellyfish that naturally produces – "

Kuroo cuts himself off as a muffled noise escapes Kageyama. He has his hand over his mouth, and his face is a little red, like he's holding his breath. Kuroo is still panicking, a little, and wonders if he broke him, until Kageyama starts giggling, eventually doubling over in full-blown laughter. Kuroo should be offended, probably, because Kageyama's laughing _at him,_ but all he can think about is the fact _Kageyama's laughing._

A few moments later, Kuroo finds himself laughing, too, in the back of a pet store by the glow-in-the-dark fish, next to a genius setter with determination a mile wide. And in the midst of it all, he thinks, _I'm kind of glad I got ditched,_ and keeps on laughing.

Their laughter dies down, eventually, but not their mirth, and Kuroo's smiling even as he rushes Kageyama out of the store before more workers can give them dirty looks. He tugs on Kageyama's wrist, leading the way across the street to another store, and when they enter, he doesn't bother letting go.

 

("Kuroo-san," Kageyama asks, much later, "Do you think Kozume-san and dumbass Hinata can make it back to the station?"

"Well, no," Kuroo answers, because it's true.

Kageyama blinks. "Do you think _we_ can make it back to the station?"

A pause. "Well, no," he tells him, and continues to walk.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> you know, i wasn't expecting my first fic including kuroo to be kurokage, but here we are.
> 
> (also ignore the fact glofish are only sold in the u.s.)


End file.
